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I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

When I saw this glazed black cod recipe in the June issue of Bon Appetit, the title alone convinced me to try it. There’s a glaze that’s basted onto the fish while it broils, and then the fish is topped with a spicy, fruity salsa before serving. I do so enjoy a spicy, fruity salsa with fish, and a glaze involving tamarind was intriguing as well. Happily, black cod, also called sablefish, is a best choice on Seafood Watch. It’s a mild, white-fleshed fish, and halibut would also have worked here, and now that I’ve tasted the glaze and salsa, I think I’d like to try them with salmon too. The glaze is thick like barbecue sauce, and the tamarind adds a sour, tangy side to the mix of smoky, earthy, and sweet flavors.

Ancho chiles were rehydrated and then pureed with orange juice, honey, garlic, tamarind concentrate, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. The puree was strained into a saucepan and then simmered until thickened. The glaze and the salsa can be made in advance making this a very quick dish to prepare at the last minute. The salsa included a seeded and finely chopped habanero, orange segments, cilantro, red onion, and red wine vinegar and olive oil. The fish was broiled for a few minutes on each side before the glaze was basted onto the top. It went back under the broiler for a couple of minutes until the glaze was bubbly hot.

I like a quick and easy fish preparation using the broiler, but this would also be delicious, if slightly more time-consuming, cooked on the grill. The salsa was perfect for topping fish, and mango in place of orange would be another route to take with it. But, the tamarind glaze was the key element here. I’ll be using that again and again for fish, and it would be great brushed onto tofu or used as a sauce for barbecue chicken.

I saw this one in BA too and immediately put it at the top of my list of things to make. (Problem is, even the top of my list of things to make is pretty extensive). You probably already know this, but Seafood Watch has phone apps now and you can also request a text of the current sustainable fish choices.

After seeing this recipe I went out and bought a block of Tamarind. Haven't used it yet, but now that I see you've made it look so delicious, I'm going to get on it and make it. I'm going to take your suggestion and try it with the salmon.

This is absolutely gorgeous!! And I'm so excited to find a reason to use my tamarind concentrate. I made it my mission in life to buy some before I left NYC (though to be honest I bet they carry it right here at Whole Foods in Austin:)

What a lovely, vibrant recipe. I too will try it with salmon as you suggested. Thanks for sharing!

Cod is one of my favs, and this is absolutely mouthwatering! Plus luv the use of the spicy pepper. I am always looking for ways to use them -- always seem to have way more spicy peppers than uses for them!!! (Am passing on Cakes for Kids to Working Girl, the baker in the family. Don't know if she knows about it - what a great organization!)

Thanks for this! Just back from the store & no tamarind paste, though. May have to use my dried tamarinds to figure out how to make the paste. Love the flavors in this and can't wait to mess around with it.